3 Little things College Coaches look for
Understand that each coach is different and the better player you are the easier it is for a coach to overlook certain areas. What players need to understand is that the majority of division I schools are midmajor or low major schools and that there is nothing wrong with playing at that level. Davidson is considered a mid/low major school yet they have the best player in the country right now in Stephen Curry. Curry was barely recruited even though his father was a legend at Virginia Tech and a great pro. Some coaches look at different things and I thought I’d cover 3 that, in my opinion, are overlooked and underappreciated.
1. Practice Habits: Coaches can go watch players practice but the good coaches watch a player before and after practice to see what his habits are. They like to be a little anonymous so the player doesn’t know he’s watching. What are they looking at? Warmup habits, leadership habits and structure. Coaches want kids who love the game and are willing to play and play it right. By watching beforehand and seeing a kid out early and warming up correctly before going it to his ‘ritual’, it can make all the difference in the world. The best players stay after and keep shooting. You couldn’t get me out of the gym after practice ended and I still love it to this day.
2. Attitude: This is a 2 way street here and players need to be aware. If you are a great player this isn’t as important as if you aren’t a great player. Here is what I mean. Coaches go around and talk to teachers, other students, principals, security guards…you name it. They want to get unbiased opinions by other people in the school as to what type of a person you are. Coaches understand that players always try to put their best foot forward so by asking others they get a good sense of what a kid is really like. Be mindful of this because it can make a low major player a mid major one and a mid major a high major. High major players can get away with more here.
3. Respect for Parents and Coaches: Coaches want kids who are willing to be coached and not react. It is just as important during a practice as to how a kid reacts while being coached as it is to how he plays. Does the player look the coach in the eye? Does the player respond to criticism? Does the player show respect to his parents? All these things play a giant role in deciding if a kid is getting a scholarship or not.
Coaches want kids who have talent, love the game, respect the game by always playing hard and win. Kids that come from winning programs have a much easier time getting their educations paid for. Winning breeds winning and the more coaches surround themselves with winners, the better their program can become.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
How do you start an article with Stephon Curry as an example, and then offer three things that coaches look for which Curry seems to have in abundance? Curry is a direct contrast to your three things - if coaches valued those three, Curry would be at a high major, not a low major. If college coaches look for three things, they are: height, length and quickness, which is why a player like Curry can be overlooked despite his great attitude, background and skill set.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
You are missing the title of the article. The title is 3 LITTLE things. Curry is a great player that didn’t have the height, length and quickness but did everything else. Do you know how many 6′3 165 pound high school kids are out there and are very good players? Dime a dozen. I use Curry because he wasn’t highly recruited and coaches can miss on some kids.
I understand that the big 3 of height, length and quickness are important. I’m not saying that skill doesn’t play a role because that’s obvious. If a kid is good, he’s good and that sticks out to nearly everyone, but not every player understands that coaches are always watching and if they are on the fence for a scholarship offer then these 3 LITTLE things can make all the difference.
I love the comment.
January 30th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I totally agree to your response bschofield. There are thousands of kids out there that have Curry’s athleticism, height and quickness. It’s pretty naive to think that all a coach looks for is height, quickness and skill. Coaches know that those attributes are out there all over the place. They know that in order for thier team to win they need some team chemistry and some kids with a little character.
Roy Williams is a perfect example. He won’t touch players that he doesn’t think are good human beings, he flat out doesn’t care how good they are. If they seem selfish, immature or weak he knows that it’s only a matter of time before those characteristics will show up on the court and weaken his team.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
It’s true, there are thousands of high school kids who are good shooters at 6′2 with decent quickness but those kids need something that seperates them from everyone else. The problem comes when parents talk to kids and tell them how good they are and not what they need to work on to get better. Kids that want to play in college need people around them who are going to push them to practice and challenge them and not just stroke their egos.